Arch Manning’s dad Cooper claims Dan Orlovsky’s No. 1 pick for Texas QB talk is ‘fluff, hot air’

Expectations are high for Texas and for Arch Manning in 2026. Manning decided to return to school, foregoing the 2026 NFL Draft. Now, his dad, Coope,r is speaking about expectations, the Heisman, the future of Texas, and the future of his son, Arch.

The hype for Manning was massive heading into 2025, his first season as a starter for Texas. While he decided to return in 2026, that has not stopped analysts from questioning that decision. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said that Manning would go number one in the NFL Draft in 2026. Cooper Manning responded to that.

“That’s just a long way away. Everybody’s looking to spring, getting to know some of these new teammates. That’s all fluff and hot air and nonsense. It was nice of Dan to say, but Dan’s got to fill a lot of airtime,” the elder Manning said in a one-on-one interview with VideoGamer and DJ Siddiqi.

The younger Manning ended the season strong.  In his first seven games of the year, he passed for 1,449 yards, with 12 touchdowns, plus five on the ground and five interceptions. In his final six games, he threw for 1,714 yards, with 14 touchdowns, with five more in the running game, and just two interceptions. This is leading to Heisman hype for the Longhorn quarterback.

“But any sort of individual awards and all that stuff is just noise,” Cooper Manning said of the Heisman and individual honors. “He could give a hoot about any of that stuff. It’s all about being with your teammates, trying to get better individually, but also as an offense and executing. If you do that, you know good things will happen.”

While individual awards are nice, they will come with the team’s success, which could happen for Arch and the Longhorns in 2026. They added Cam Coleman to be a threat in the passing game for Manning, while also adding players in the backfield to keep the offense balanced. Those things were all done after Manning decided to return, and apparently, there was never a second thought about the return.

“We never even discussed it,” Arch’s father added “I honestly never even talked about it. If you’re lucky enough to play college football, why in the heck would you want to do something else? I think they’re going to have to run him out of there. He loves his teammates, he loves his coaches. He loves playing at DKR, being in Austin, Texas. I think he’ll be sad when those days are over. Enjoy it, soak it up and cherish every moment you get to play college football. What a lucky guy.”

Texas will enter the 2026 campaign as one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, and high expectations of a playoff return. Manning will be in his fourth year of college football, and if he is enjoying it enough, he will still have eligibility for the 2027 season as well.

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